Right around the time that I came home from school in the summer after completing my second year of college, I received an email from a woman that worked in the career services office at Carthage. The email said that there was a sports radio talk show host that was looking for an intern.
As an aspiring sports journalist, I immediately pounced on this opportunity and quickly received a response from the host. The host was Brad Jewell, and the show was "Jewell on Sports," a Thursday night two-hour fun sports show on WLIP in Kenosha that featured interviews with some of the biggest people in the world of sports- Brett Favre, Ahman Green, and Christian Laettner just to name a few.
What I didn't know was just how Brad could touch my life through the experience. Brad devastatingly and unexpectedly passed away on December 28, 2015 and in his honor, I would like to share how he impacted me as a journalist and as a person.
So going back to the story...
Brad had listened to the first podcast I had recorded and posted on this blog, and told me he would be thrilled to have me as an intern. I was ecstatic to have been given such an incredible opportunity, but what he told me next was even harder to believe- he had wanted me to be the cohost of his show.
It would be an hour long commute for me to go up to Kenosha. On the first week I was going to go on the air, a windy thunderstorm was expected to come in. Brad texted me telling me to stay safe and not to come up. This was a great example of how kind and how thoughtful Brad was. He cared more about my safety than his show.
The next week, I showed up and was told that for my first time ever being on a radio show, I would be interviewing Packer greats Ahman Green and Javon Walker, and NFL special team standout Javier Arenas. Very seldom had I ever talked to pro athletes before. I had never interviewed an athlete before, much less two Pro-Bowlers and a college football national champion. Nor had I ever talked on the radio before.
All of these things gave me some nerves as I got ready for my radio debut.
But you know what? Brad talked to me before we went on and told me I would do fine. He told me not to be shy or nervous, but to own the fact that I was in the bigs now. He believed in me. He gave me confidence, something I was lacking. Brad also shared valuable tips and insights on how to conduct interviews and talk sports on the radio, tips that I wouldn't have picked up anywhere else.
Over the coming weeks, obstacles that I will not explain appeared that kept me from going back on the show. Still, Brad and I kept contact, communicating over Facebook and through text messages. He wished me good luck as I prepared to transfer schools and continue my journey to my dream job.
At Valparaiso, I have been given great opportunities on the air. I have my own sports radio talk show and I have even done a few color commentary broadcasts on ESPN 3. Without Brad, I wouldn't have been able to jump in comfortably and confidently in to these new roles. Brad was even going to call in and let me interview him on my show after winter break. Unfortunately, that will no longer be able to happen.
Although I might not have known Brad Jewell as well as the many other people whose lives he touched, he taught me a lot in the short time that I knew him. He gave me my first opportunity as a journalist. I will forever be grateful for that. He taught me some of the ins and outs of the craft. But perhaps most importantly, he extended a hand to an unproven, untested wannabe journalist and put me on the air with little for him to gain from him it and in return, received just the joy of helping someone out. If I ever make it in the journalism industry, I know that I will have to do the same for somebody else.
Outside of work, Brad was a great family man with a good sense of humor. He was a big man with an even bigger heart. My prayers are with his family and friends in this troubling time.
Brad, if you can leave this much of an impact on me in the short time I knew you, imagine how man lives you touched and how much of an impact you had on your friends. Thank you for everything. I miss you. Rest easy.
